Design in Canada: Bruce Mau

Bruce Mau was born on October 25, 1959 in Sudbury Ontario. Growing up, he admits that he never knew that a career in art and design was even an option. Mau studied at the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) but left to work for the “Fifty Fingers” design group before graduating. Once he was exposed to the field, Bruce moved to England for two years to work at Pentagram in London. Although he started out as primarily a graphic designer, he later ventured into architecture and environmental design. 

A “Massive Change” print exhibition displayed at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

In 1985, Bruce founded and worked as the creative director of Bruce Mau Design (BMD). While working here, he also founded the “Institute Without Boundaries” in collaboration with the School of Design at George Brown College, Toronto. After 25 years of work, Bruce left BMD in 2010. He then went on to establish Massive Change Network, a design consultancy in Chicago which he co-founded with his wife. 

Sticker designs for Massive Change Network’s “MC24” campaign.

Although he never completed his own degree, Bruce has received multiple honorary art and design degrees from various schools. He also occasionally works as a professor in both Canada and the US. Mau most recently founded “Bruce Mau Studio” last year in 2020, which will bring forth a new era of BMD. 

References:

https://www.famousgraphicdesigners.org/bruce-mau 
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bruce-mau 
https://brucemaustudio.com/bio/ 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Mau

Italian Postmodernist: Ettore Sottsass

Ettore Sottsass was an Italian architect and designer born in September of 1917 in Austria. Sottsass studied architecture at the Politecnico di Torino, as his father also worked as an architect. However, shortly after graduating, he served in World War II as part of the Italian military. Once the war was over, he returned home and worked briefly as an architect with his father before opening his own architectural and industrial design studio in Milan. Here, he felt that he had the freedom to experiment with different media such as glass, ceramic, jewelry, lighting, and furniture.

In 1956, Ettore Sottsass was hired by Adriano Olivetti to work as a design consultant for “Olivetti”, a company that specializes in the design of electronic devices. Here, he learnt how to design things like typewriters and other office equipment.

Various furniture and decorative pieces designed by the Memphis Group.

Ettore Sottsass founded the Memphis Group in Milan on December 11, 1980. The Memphis Group was a collaborative design group that emphasized experimentation with new design styles instead of following the classic trends. Most of their work was heavily inspired by pop art and the art deco style due to the use of bright, bold colours, textures, and patterns.

Unfortunately, Sottsass passed away in December of 2007 at the age of 90.

References:

https://www.artsy.net/artist/ettore-sottsass
https://artemest.com/collections/ettore-sottsass
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ettore_Sottsass 

Supergraphic Master: Barbara Stauffacher Solomon

Born in 1928, Barbara “Bobbie” Stauffacher Solomon grew up on the West Coast of the USA in California. While she originally went to school to study painting and sculpture, she ultimately made the most significant contributions to the world of architecture, as she is most well known for her interior supergraphics. In 1956, Barbara moved to Switzerland to study graphic design under the widely popular designer Armin Hoffman. It wasn’t until 1981 when she finally decided to study architecture at the University of California, Berkley.

Various wall mural designs found inside Sea Ranch

Barbara is considerably most well known for the various design work she did for Sea Ranch in Sonoma County, California, a gig given to her beginning in 1962. She designed all sorts of things, most notably exterior signage, paintings for the building’s interiors, even the Sea Ranch logo itself (which depicts clear Swiss style influence, specifically as seen in the typography). Because of her great work at Sea Ranch, she went on to receive two American Institute of Architects (AIA) awards. 

Today, Barbara’s work is displayed in various exhibitions, including the Berkley art Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

References:

https://www.foldmagazine.com/multi-hyphenate-pioneer-barbara-stauffacher-solomon (a great read)
https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/people/1108833685/bio
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Stauffacher_Solomon

Psychedelic Design: Peter Max

Peter Max in his studio, 2017

German-American artist Peter Max was born on October 19, 1937, in Berlin. Throughout his childhood, his family travelled and lived all over the world, from China to Israel, to Paris, eventually settling in New York City. There, Max began studying and training at the Art Students League of New York in 1956. He was mentored by Frank Reilly, a man who attended the League himself, but who also happened to study alongside Norman Rockwell. After completing his studies, Max opened a small art studio with the help of his school friend Tom Daly. The Daly & Max Studio won many numerous awards, particularly for their illustrations and designs displayed on book covers.

It is evident that Peter Max had a distinct psychedelic style in his work, featuring the use of bright colours and interesting shapes. What many people don’t realize is that Max had multiple synesthesia experiences throughout his lifetime. His personal artistic style helped him describe the way that he “heard” colour and “saw” things like music in particular. This phenomenon must have been the reason why his work was so popular among the hippies of the ’60s, especially considering how inspirational and widely-known his “Be In” poster came to be.  

References:

https://petermax.com/pages/peter-max-biography 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Max
http://blog.lofty.com/top-10/top-10-things-you-should-know-about-peter-max/ 

Advertising Art Director: George Lois

Photo of George Lois, featured in the January 2007 issue of Vanity Fair

American graphic designer, art director, and author George Lois was born on June 26, 1931, in New York, New York. Although he initially received a scholarship to play basketball, he ended up attending Pratt Institute where he only studied for a year before being drafted to fight in the Korean War. After the war, Lois finally started his career in design, where he worked at CBS in the advertising and promotional department.

George Lois’ Esquire Covers from the 1960s

George Lois is best known for the total of 92 covers he designed for Esquire magazine over the course of ten years, from 1962-1972. However, other notable developments in his career include being recruited by Fred Papert and Julian Koenig to form the Papert Koenig Lois ad agency in 1960. Also known as PKL, this agency was known to be the first ad agency to ever go public. 

“When You Got It, Flaunt It” campaign for Braniff International Airways

Later, in 1968, Lois worked on a project for Braniff International Airways, where he created the famous “When You Got It, Flaunt It” campaign, resulting in a great increase in business. Over the course of his career, Lois also worked on various marketing and advertising projects for companies like MTV, Jiffy Lube, Tommy Hilfiger, Xerox, Aunt Jemima, USA Today, and ESPN.

References:

http://www.georgelois.com/biography.html 
https://www.famousgraphicdesigners.org/george-lois
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lois 
https://www.phaidon.com/agenda/graphic-design/articles/2012/august/23/george-lois-on-the-secrets-behind-a-great-cover/
https://www.eamesoffice.com/blog/george-lois-and-the-esquire-covers-and-an-eames-670/